I must confess I am not up to date with the latest technical gizmos. So much technology is around today that I believe most people have really lost their identity. I do not think they will soon recover.

I must confess I am not up to date with the latest technical gizmos. So
much technology is around today that I believe most people have really
lost their identity. I do not think they will soon recover.
I am not against modern technology; I simply cannot keep up with it. I
would vote for anybody who would call a moratorium on all updates for
the next five years. As soon as I get a product, it is out of date and
I need, desperately need, an update if I am going to benefit from this
product.
This brings me to the subject of the Selfie. It took me a long time to
understand what this was. My clock is not always ticking. My idea of a
Selfie is someone who is self-centered. How was I to know it had
something to do with taking your own picture? I am not sure what to
call people who take their own picture, but the modern term today is
Selfie.
People want to believe that they are as good as their Selfie. I do not
believe that for one moment. If I am as good as my Selfie, I am in
pretty bad shape. I know you can Photoshop a picture to make yourself
look a lot better, but then I ask, is that really a Selfie?
I think there are other ways to evaluate yourself.
For me, my worth has to do with the pens I use. The Selfie that I took
has no class and certainly lacks a lot of dignity.
Nothing is more personal than a person's pen. I never leave home without
mine.
In fact, I carry on my person at all times a variety of pens. There is a
pen for every activity. You can tell a lot about a person by the pen
that they use. In my book, it is a fountain pen and I have a variety of
them in my personal collection.
When it comes to pens, I have a collection that, well, let's say it
exceeds a few. I have been collecting these pens since I have been able
to write. After all, a writer without a pen is not really a writer.
The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage has the opinion that I am a wee
bit obsessive about my pen collection. I remember in exasperation at my
growing pen collection, she once asked, “If you had to choose between
me or your pens, which would you choose?”
As a man who has been a husband for more decades and I care to remember,
certain questions that come from the other side of this marriage
equation should never be answered and should be avoided at all costs.
When such questions are put forth, the name of the game is switch the
topic as quickly as possible.
I do not want it to be, an “either/or” kind of a situation. I choose to
keep both, which has made me happy for so many years.
My idea is simply this, if something is worth writing it is worth
writing with a fountain pen. You can tell a lot about a person by the
pen they use and if it is a fountain pen, that tells me volumes about
that person.
A fountain pen is the choice of the really serious writer. I know there
are all kinds of pens these days, and I have my share of them, but when
it comes to serious writing, it always has to be a fountain pen. There
is something about a fountain pen that makes words flow almost
effortlessly.
I take pride in my fountain pens and always have on my person the
fountain pen for the day. Each day calls for a special fountain pen.
Woe be unto the person who confuses one pen with the wrong day. After
all, let us get serious about this fountain pen business.
I was at the post office jotting down some notes while I was waiting in
line just using and enjoying my fountain pen. The person in front of me
turned around and said, “Sir, could I borrow your pen for a moment?”
There are questions and then there are questions. I froze and simply
stared at her. I like being a gentleman as much as I can but when it
comes to a fountain pen I really draw the line. Fortunately, for me, I
had another pen, which was not a fountain pen for such emergencies as
this. Not everybody is worthy of using a fountain pen, especially my
fountain pen.
I do not think it is appropriate for someone to ask to borrow one of my
pens!
Also, on the other side of the counter, I do not borrow or use somebody
else's pen. I know it may be a phobia on my part, but I am sticking to
it. When I go to the counter to pay for lunch, for example, the cashier
always offers one of her pens. I refuse to use a pen that has been used
by a million other people. I am not a germ-a-phobic, just a
pen-a-phobic.
David understood this when he wrote, “My heart is inditing a good
matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my
tongue is the pen of a ready writer” (Psalm 45:1).
A person's value is determined by what he or she values the most.
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